Project and task management decision
Opal
A capable developer can reproduce a useful Android-only version (timers, blocking, local scoring) in about a week, but matching Opal’s cross-platform, hard-blocking behaviour on iOS/macOS and its polished, multi-device experience requires platform integrations and scale that are not realistic for a single developer.
Visit website↗$19.99/mo
$240/yr
Read off the official pricing page.
$50one-off30 h to build
$0/mo8 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 1 seat.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Opal alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Allow user to define blocking rules → start a focus timer → block distracting apps/notifications for timer duration → record focused session and update local focus score/history
What it still won’t have
- Reliable, hard OS-level blocking on iPhone/mac without MDM or platform vendor cooperation
- Polish, cross-platform consistency (iOS, macOS, Android) and App Store/Play Store scale
- Opal’s branded UX, rewards/gamification persistence at scale and community features
- Enterprise/team features and account management/SLAs
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 1 seat.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal Android-only focus app in Kotlin using Android Jetpack (Room, WorkManager) and an Accessibility + UsageStats-based blocker. In scope: rule editor (block list, schedules), focus timer with forced lock until expiry, local session logging and a per-day 'focus score' calculation view, notification/soundscape playback, basic onboarding and settings. Out of scope: iOS/macOS support, App Store monetization flows, team/enterprise billing, server-side syncing. Include thorough error handling, accessibility fallbacks, unit tests for timer and scoring logic, and instrumentation tests for blocking flows.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 4 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score67
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 4
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productOpal - The #1 Screen Time App
- official pricingOpal Pricing
- official docsOpal - The #1 Screen Time App (features)
- open sourcedevpKishan/FocusGuard (repo)
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
